


Disrupted Routine

by Magical_Persona



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Donnie being a good dad, Hurt/Comfort, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:22:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29508963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magical_Persona/pseuds/Magical_Persona
Summary: It was supposed to be a routine recon mission. It wasn't supposed to end up like this. Donnie hadn't left his room in days and there was nothing anyone could think to say to him. What do you tell your brother when his favorite drone was destroyed right in front of him?I did not beta this. Just got the writing bug at 1am.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	Disrupted Routine

Donnie was standing on the rooftop of a rundown apartment building, looking between his phone and the slowly emptying streets below. Something had set one of his scanners in the area off, but he hadn’t been able to pick anything up from the camera feeds. It was possible that something had been knocked loose. This area wasn’t exactly known for the best drivers and they might also be close to where a large group of silverfish tended to hunt.

With a sigh he looked back down at his phone. Now he just had to track down which scanner was faulty and repair it. Nothing too difficult. If he could pinpoint the scanner quickly then he might even be home before the sun completely set.

Shelldon, who had been zooming in circles around the roof came to a halt beside the purple turtle. “It could be the Purple Dragons.”

“Unlikely.” He tapped a few things out on his phone and then his wrist band. “If it were them they would have left a trace, or a calling card. They can call themselves the best hackers out there if they want, but a good hacker gets in, takes what they need, and then gets out without announcing their presence. They’re too self centered, they would never.”

“They would *never*,” Shelldon repeated with a small chuckle and Donnie couldn’t help but smile.

Shelldon had come so far from the smart lair he’d been originally. It was one thing to see his tech come to life, but it was another thing entirely to watch it grow. He’d never expected Shelldon to become a drone who was more alive than most people Donnie had observed. Save for needing to eat Shelldon was no different than a child.

The drone took off once more, leaving soft purple lines in his wake. Donnie was content to watch his brain child as he swooped and dove, zig zagging between flag poles and satellite dishes.

“If you pull your left propellers closer to your body you’ll get a tighter turn,” Donnie corrected as the drone circled the length of the flagpole.

Shelldon abandoned the dizzying spiral to fly right at Donnie’s face. For a moment Donnie was sure his teenaged drone was going to code back to him, but instead he put his front propellers together as though he were pleading.

“If I run it again will you film it?” Shelldon asked, his little form bobbing gently as though he were riding ocean waves.

“Of course!” He said with a scoff. As if he’d miss an opportunity to film one of his babies in action. Donnie had never pulled up his camera app so quickly. He wasn’t about to miss his favorite brainchild in action. He popped his phone into one of the robotic arms of his battle shell and smiled brightly at his drone.

Shelldon lined himself up at the makeshift starting line, doing a single back flip before settling with slowly rocking back and forth. As Donnie counted him down. Shelldon took off the very second the word ‘go’ left his creator’s mouth. The drone sped toward the first “obstacle.” It was nothing more than the roof of the stairwell leading down from the roof, but that didn’t seem to bother Shelldon. He twisted around the concrete structure, his shell sliding inches from the unforgiving wall as he laughed. At the end of the structure Sheldon barrel rolled over his back and back to having his propellers facing the ground.

The drone giggled and Donnie thought his heart might actually explode from sheer joy. Shelldon looked so happy as he launched himself forward, weaving through the satellite dishes planted along the edges of the roof. Between each one Shelldon was sure to add a little bit of flare. A flip here or a corkscrew here. Or one of his favorites, weaving through the last few on his back before flipping to head for the lightning rod firmly planted in the center of the building. Shelldon took Donnie’s advice, tucking his propellers close to his body as he completed tight spirals to the top of the pole.

When he reached the top he kept three propellers close to the pole while he raised the fourth high in the air.

“What was my time?” He called to the turtle.

“One minute, thirty seconds, and three milliseconds.” Donnie didn’t bother to keep the excitement out of his voice. “You’re getting faster!”

“Booyakasha!” Shelldon shouted as he zoomed toward his creator.

Donnie patted the top of Shelldon’s head. “You were amazing, Shelldon. I’m proud of you.”

The last thing the video captured was Shelldon’s beaming face as his propellers flapped happily in the air, the drone bouncing back and forth with the force of their movement.

“You’ll send me the video right?” Shelldon asked, orbiting Donnie’s head. “I like to play them back when I’m charging. It’s like I’m dreaming.”

Not for the first time Donnie was surprised by just how human his drone had become. He acted out like a teenager, listened to music far too loudly, and occasionally had a habit of charging long after noon. Though it was probably more accurate to say Donnie hadn’t realized how deeply he cared for this drone. His brothers used to joke that Shelldon had become his son, but as Donnie sent the video to Shelldon he realized just how true that was.


End file.
